


The Burning Rose

by Arcanaii



Category: Original Work
Genre: Albino, Angst and Tragedy, Character Death, Falling In Love, Gay Male Character, Geisha, M/M, Yakuza, historical fiction - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:29:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27211975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arcanaii/pseuds/Arcanaii
Summary: His skin, white as snow, and his eyes, red as the blood that scattered the ground. It was the 18th century in Edo Period Japan, where two men crossed paths and fate locked their souls together.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 1





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for deleting this, I was emotional and felt unhappy with it, but I look back at the chapters and realize that I actually really like it! Please enjoy!
> 
> Also sorry for the short summary, I'm not sure what to put right now.

_**1726, January 23** _

Today was a very special day for the Rose family, for a new child was born, but he was not like his mother, or his father, none of his household could compare to the newborn: the baby was, physically, an albino. His skin was a pale white, and the color of his hair was a very bright platinum blonde, almost the same color as his skin. He was almost as bright and beautiful as the moon, but his father did not think of it too fondly.

“That child is cursed, woman! We must throw him out, kill him, lest our lives become riddled with misfortune and death!” The father yelled, angering the mother.

“That cursed child that you speak of is my son, our son! If you even dare to try to lay a hand on him, I will make sure you never leave here alive!” The mother yelled back, making the man flinch a bit. He then bit his lip in frustration and stomped into his bedroom, packing up his things.

“If you aren’t going to do something about him, then I will not stay here any longer!”

“Leave then! What do I care, you child slaughterer? Don’t think I don’t know what you do!”

The arguing went back and forth while the father packed up his things and left, leaving the mother to throw porcelain and glass at his head in anger. After the storm had passed, she sighed and went back inside, taking a seat at the kotatsu and placing her child there, then put her hands together and bowed down in front of him in prayer.

After she lifted her head up, the child looked at her with his garnet eyes and smiled. She grinned back and went to go open up the shoji leading from the small room to the outside. Her eyes widened when she saw what was happening.

Snow poured from the sky, littering the ground in pure white. Her eyes started to water when she looked back at her albino offspring, sitting there on the table and gnawing at his hand, and her grin grew wider as she went back, picked up her child, and took him outside. The baby looked fascinated and started yelling in joy when his mother took a step into it, making a satisfying crunching sound. He smiled even more when the snow decided to flutter around and on him, though after staying out there for nearly five minutes, he started shivering and made a sneezing noise. His mother laughed, and walked back inside.

“A perfect day for a child like you to be born, is it not? You know, I just thought of the perfect name for you. Dear baby, your name shall be…”

\--------------------------------------

_**1732, March** _

The six-year-old woke up panting from the memory that had embedded itself into his dream and buried his face in his hands. His eyes wandered over to his sick and starved mother. This year, famine plagued the country of Japan, and worsened during the heavy rains of March, tearing up the wheat and barley fields, and leaving them with nothing but the actions of raiding villages or, if you’re brave enough, sneaking into the palace of the royals.

Suddenly, he heard coughing from his mother, tearing the child out of his thoughts. His eyes shot up to look at his mother, and he crawled over to her, then sat her up and put her head on the wall.

“Are you okay, mom?” He asked, worry in his eyes. She coughed a little bit more before she answered.

“I’m alright, dear, but what about you? You must be starving. Shall I go see what we have to eat?” She replied, but then burst into another fit of coughing.

“No, please mother. I’m fine! The one who really needs the food and medicine is you, so I’m going to go look for some, okay? Please, stay here. I’ll be right back.”

His mother was about to protest until she started coughing again, so she just sighed in defeat.

“Alright, but please, be careful out there.”

He nodded, and packed up a few things before opening the door, looking back at his mom one more time, and exited the house. The boy walked past the river that flowed next to and underneath their house, then walked to the market. What he saw was a huge crowd of people, chattering and rushing back and forth.

‘What’s going on?’ he thought, since he hadn’t seen the market this busy for a while, until he suddenly heard marching in the distance. The crowd suddenly separated into two lines, standing at the edge of the market. He didn’t notice that they had done that, but it was when he heard the marching get louder, he realized that he should probably follow suit. Curious, he peeked out from behind a man, and saw six soldiers marching towards them. Once they passed by he saw something he never thought he’d see.

The ten year old prince came into view, and then stopped in the center of the market, looking around at all the people. The albino glared at the prince.

‘Why the hell is he here, and why now of all times?’

The six year old looked at the man standing in front of him, who was looking at the prince in awe, and then looked at his back pocket. It seemed like it had some sort of currency or food in it, so, without attracting attention, he carefully reached into the man’s pocket and pulled out a tiny bottle of medicine, and a small loaf of bread. He then carefully put it in his bag and continued to watch the prince, only to realize that the prince was staring directly at him. The two made eye contact, and the royalty smirked, making the albino flinch and start to sweat. He quickly looked away and started pushing past people to get out of his sight.

For those of you that don’t know, Prince Ryuuji wasn’t a famous prince, and was never recorded in the history books of Japan, for reasons you shall find out later in this story. His name means “dragon child,” and he was named that because of his piercing green eyes. They weren’t subtle like regular green eyes, they were striking, and very obvious, colored almost as brightly as a perfectly cut peridot, which is very ironic, seeing as he was born in August, peridot being its birthstone. His hair was also as black as night, and flowed down to his waist, making his eyes stand out even more.

Those eyes could make anyone nervous, even the fearless albino. Once he got away from the prince, he looked back at him one more, realizing that the prince was still staring at him. The pale child was about to take another step forward, when he ran into a royal guard.

‘Great,’ he thought, ‘just what I need.’

“If you’ll please excuse me, I must be on my way,” he said, and was about to pass by the guard when the man stepped in front of him.

“Sorry girl, but the prince requested to see you. He said, ‘Send me the albino girl from the crowd,’” the guard said, but the child wouldn’t be taken that easily.

‘Girl?’ the boy thought, but wasn’t exactly surprised. He had to admit that he did look a bit like a female, with his feminine face and slender body, pale hair going down to his shoulders, but for the prince to think that, it was a bit surprising, but he just decided to play along. “I don't care what the prince says, I just need to get back to my mother.”

Again, the guard tried to stop the albino, but this time, he stomped on the guard’s foot with his heel, and ran past him while the guard was clutching his foot in pain. But, of course, the other guards rushed to grab the child and brought him to the prince, with the male struggling to get free from them.

They finally arrived in front of the prince, and they let him go, but one stayed behind to push him down to the ground, onto his knees. Ryuuji walked up to the boy, and grabbed his chin, yanking it up to look at him. They stared at each other for a little bit, and then the prince finally talked.

“What’s your name?” he asked, and the child just stared up at him quietly, then turned his head to look away from the prince, but Ryuuji was not having it.

“I asked you a question, girl. Now tell me, what is your name?” he said, but more threatening than before.

“And why should I tell you, prince?” he answered, saying prince in a dragged out and sarcastic way. Ryuuji grabbed his hair and yanked his head back, forcing him to look straight at the sky, then leaned in close to his ear, whispering, “Because if you don’t, I will make sure your mother never lives to see her grandchildren. Now, I’m going to ask one more time, and you’re going to answer: What is your name, and why are you stealing from my citizens?”

The threat had the albino mad, and so he quickly grabbed the back of the prince’s head, and pulled hard, making the prince hiss and let his hand go of the boy’s head. He recovered quickly, and pulled his hand back to slap the boy, until the albino grabbed his wrist and held it in place, then he spit in the prince’s face and replied.

“You want to know my name? Well, what if I said I don’t have a name, or don’t know my name? You want to know why I stole from that man? Because my mother is sick, starved and dying, and she is the only person in this world who has not shamed or scorned me because of my looks. She has never once called me cursed, but instead says I’m blessed by the gods with beauty beyond imagination. So, if you understand what I just said, then I say you let me go, and we will never cross paths again. Is that clear?”

The prince just stared at the albino in shock, but smiled and started laughing, making the albino even angrier, so he yelled, “I said, is that clear?!” The prince wiped the tears from his eyes, and replied: “Yes, of course. You are free to go now. I wish you and your mother the best of luck.” The pale child looked at him for a little bit more, studying his moves, and let go of the prince’s wrist, then stood up. The guards then unsheathed their swords and pointed them at the boy.

Unfazed, the child just walked through the bunches of armor and weapons until he got outside the group, and looked back at the prince one more time. Ryuuji noticed this, and smiled at the boy, waving a goodbye at him. The boy just glared at him, and turned around, then started running back to his home.

Once he arrived, he slid open the door, and said, “Mother, you won’t believe what just hap-”

He stopped talking when he finally got the door open: his mother was still, lying on the floor, but she was almost paler than him, and motionless. Her eyes were open, just staring ahead into nothingness. He rushed over to her side, sliding down next to her. Not wasting any time, he checked her pulse, but to his disadvantage, her blood ran cold through her veins, and her body cold and motionless, but something wasn’t right. When he brushed his hand down to her stomach, he felt a liquid stain it, and so looked down at it.

Crimson red blood coated his hand, and he quickly looked at where the stab mark was. Her kimono was covering it up, so he reluctantly took it off her.

“Sorry, mother,” he muttered, and once he got her robes off, he stared at her stomach. The cut was messy but deep, and the boy knew that his mother didn’t go down without a fight. He chuckled, and covered her back up, then looked back at her face. Her eyes were wide open, and dried tears streaked down her cheek, so he gently closed her eyes and smiled, until water started to dribble down his face. His anger built up the more he looked at her, and then he remembered what the king had said.

“If you don’t, I will make sure your mother never lives to see her grandchildren,” were his exact words. The albino stood up in rage, covered his mother with a blanket, and stormed out of the house. Suddenly, a few men showed up in front of him.

“Who the fu-” he said, until he got clubbed over the head and fell to the ground, motionless.


	2. A New Start

**_Ten Years Later_ **

“Jaxson, get up you slow bitch! The big guy wants to talk to you!”

The albino rose out of bed, and rubbed his eyes. His tangled sheets flowed with his every movement as he got out of bed and put his feet on the cold ground. He shrugged the sheets off his body and left him naked as he stretched. Red eyes traveled over to the man that yelled at him, and he stopped stretching.

“I know, this is the third time you told me. Now, can you leave me alone for a bit? I’d like to get dressed.”

The man just stood there, until Jaxson batted his lashes and said in a sweet voice, “Please?” The man chuckled and shook his head.

“Alright, you got me. I’ll leave you in your naked glory, but be ready in about ten minutes.”

The albino smiled and nodded, and started getting dressed. He put on a traditional black yukata, and wrapped the white obi around his thin waist, then put on some wooden sandals, then looked in the mirror and smiled. He walked out of the spacious room that was put together, and walked down the corridor, passing by a few of the people that lived there too. Once he reached the courtyard, he saw the tattooed man standing there, waiting as patiently as he could. He apparently heard Jaxson approaching, as he looked towards the door the albino came out of.

“There you are, Jaxson.”

“Hello, boss. Is there something you needed me for?”

The tattooed man nodded and motioned for Jaxson to come closer, and so he did. The man looked down at him, and seriously said:

“Would you like to officially be a part of this group, Jaxson?”

Jaxson’s eyes widened, and his heart started racing in his chest, beating faster every minute. He’s been waiting to be asked this for quite some time now, and now to finally hear it was just overbearing. He smiled and nodded. The boss also smiled.

“Great! Come with me, we’ll initiate the trials as soon as possible!”

The albino followed him to a secluded building and opened the sliding doors. Inside were a lot of men, watching Jaxson’s every move. He suddenly started to feel uncomfortable and get the feeling that something bad is going to happen, so he tugged on his boss’ sleeve.

“Sir, who are all these men? Last time I went to a promotion ceremony, we were all in the main building and I don’t remember seeing a lot of these men there.”

Suddenly, the tattooed man stopped in his tracks, and turned around, smiling an unsettling smile.

“But this isn’t a promotion ceremony Jaxson, this is an initiation, so of course it’s going to be different. Now, why don’t you just say hi to the men? They’re pretty nice once you get to know them. Give them a chance!”

Jaxson looked at him nervously, and looked back at the door, which had closed for some unknown reason. He quickly looked back at the all the people, who had gotten closer to him, and the boss was gone, disappeared out of thin air. Looking around, he searched for an escape, but realized this building only had two exits: the main door, and a side door, which had already been shut. The albino ran to the main door struggling with prying it apart, and scanned the room a little bit more. He finally spotted an unused, small wooden table that seems to have been unused for a while, but right as he saw it, one of the men had reached him and tore part of his clothes off. Jaxson screamed, and grabbed the man’s hands, struggling. All he needed to do was to get to that table, and throw it at the door. Jaxson might look scrawny, but he was actually pretty strong, able to, at least, topple a grown man.

Once he got out of that man’s grasp, he quickly ran towards the lone table, shoving past all the men while his bare chest was showing. After running and pushing for a bit, most of his clothes were gone but he had reached the table, only realizing that if he wanted to throw or hit the doors with it, then he would have to get past all the men again, which would most likely be too late, so he looked towards the side door, and back the men. They apparently hadn’t realized there was another door, and left that passage right open, so he ran towards it.

Finally reaching the door, he tried to open it, but it was already locked, but was old and worn out. Jaxson thought that fortune was on his side, and shoved it once more hearing it crack. He looked behind himself, and saw the men closing in on him, so he quickly shoved it several more times, throwing all his weight on it, and it cracked open, giving him an opening. Once the other males realized he had opened the door, they all bolted for the albino like wild animals.

Jaxson picked up a torn piece of clothing on the ground and covered his once again naked self with it, bolting somewhere, anywhere, away from there. He looked around and found a building, not caring whether it was abandoned or not, and quickly ran into it. Once he got in, he ran behind a paper door, into another room. He crouched down, staying there, tempted to go out until he heard a door roughly sliding open, and a man’s voice.

“Have you seen a pale man, most likely naked, anywhere around here?,” the voice asked, and Jaxson looked up, not acknowledging that he was in a geisha house, and spotted a couple of geisha eyeing him. His face started burning, and looked down at the floor, when a female voice spoke up.

“Yes, in fact, I have,” she said, and Jaxson felt tears coming to his eyes, and started shaking, until he heard her say: “He went that way, towards one of the temples.” The man still hadn’t left even after she said that, but finally, after what felt like forever, he left. Jaxson was frozen on the ground, not moving until one of the maiko spoke to him.

“He’s gone now, you can get up.”

Jaxson looked up at her, and his face felt even hotter. He nodded and stood up, still holding that piece of cloth in front of his body. He bowed in apology.

“I am very sorry for inconveniencing you all. I should probably be taking me leave now. Thank you for the help.”

He was just about to leave when the same maiko that told him the man was gone stopped him. The thirteen year old looked at him, and said “You can’t leave. They’re still looking for you, and if you leave now, they’ll be sure to catch you.” Jaxson looked up at her in surprise, but realized something.

Her skin and hair were as white as snow, and her eyes were a pale blue-purple. She was an albino, just like him. In that moment, his face instantly turned red and he felt even more embarrassed in her presence. He stumbled over his words.

“I-I’m sorry, m-m-miss, but I would j-just burden you even m-more.”

“The boy’s right, Rose. He would just be a burden by staying here, especially if he’s being hunted. Who knows what kind of trouble he could bring?”

Jaxson stood up straight and nodded, then walked towards the door, until the girl named Rose yelled at the geisha.

“I don’t care! That’s the reason why he should stay, at least for a little bit until he’s not being pursued anymore. We can’t just leave him wandering the streets like this.”

“And what if he’s a criminal? What would we do then? We would be shut down for good!”

“He’s not a criminal! Do you not see how his clothes are torn off? How raggedy his hair is and how scared he looks? Something awful was going to happen to him, and I’m not leaving him for those guys to finish him off!”

The geisha looked at him, then at Rose, and sighed.

“Fine, alright. But if he’s going to stay, we should at least talk to the eldest and see what she has to say about it.”

Rose smiled and nodded, then looked back at Jaxson.

“Come with me, I should have something spare for you to wear.”

He walked with her to her room, and she took out a white yukata, commonly used when going to bathe. Jaxson took the robe, and looked back up at her. She looked at him and smiled, then talked to him.

“Tell me a bit about yourself. What’s your name, where did you come from?”

Jaxson started getting changed, and replied to her.

“My name is Jaxson, and… I don’t remember where I came from. All I can remember was being raised by that gang that was chasing me since I was… seven, I think? Besides that, I can’t recall anything else.”

Rose looked at him curiously.

“You don’t remember anything? Not even your parents?”

Jaxson shook his head.

“Not even my parents.”

She looked down and nodded, then looked out of her room, realizing it was night.

“Oh my, time passes by fast! It’s time for us to get some rest.”

“Us?,” Jaxson replied.

Rose nodded, and looked at him.

“Yes, us. Did you expect me to give you clothes and kick you out onto the street again?”

He paused, and Rose laughed.

“Come on, I have a spare futon, you can sleep there.”

The albino looked at her, eyes widening.

“You’re not worried I’ll do anything to you?”

Rose shook her head.

“I’d expect you to be too tired for anything of the like.”

Jaxson chuckled.

“Well, you’re not wrong.”

He lied down, and sighed, then closed his eyes.

“Good night, Jaxson,” was the last thing he heard before he fell asleep, having many dreams of things that he wished would happen.


	3. Peridot

**_A month later…_ **

Jaxson woke up, slowly and steadily. He sighed, and stood up then stretched, noticing that the girl, Rose, had left. The world of a maiko was never calm, he knew, the girl had told him that much.

A maiko is an apprentice geisha, who was training to become one. According to appearances, there was not much of a difference, but if you look real closely, maikos style their hair elaborately while geisha wear wigs and the like on top of their hair, not adding too much flashiness to it, and their kimonos are also a lot more elaborate than the geisha’s choice of style. He was almost jealous, being able to live their life so carefree, the only thing they have to worry about is what they want to wear in the morning. In fact, he almost wanted to experience life like that, but he doubted that he could. Even though there were boys that were training, he was only there to stay until he was positive he was off the gang’s radar. As the albino was thinking this, the door suddenly opened.

“Hi Jaxson!” He heard a cheerful voice yell, and his face lit up.

“Rose!” The boy yelled back, jumping up from his place on the ground, and realized she was smiling a lot more than usual today.

“What’s going on, Rose? You seem a lot more happy today. Is it a special occasion?” The girl giggled at his comment.

“Glad you noticed. Actually, it is a special occasion, and it may or may not have something to do with you. Now get up, get dressed, and come to the common room. I have something I  _ must _ tell you!”

Jaxson smiled and nodded as he watched Rose run out of the room, then dressed himself up in a black yukata, and tied the obi around his waist.

‘Strange,’ he thought, ‘this seems very familiar for some reason.’

After dressing himself, he walked out of the room and started towards the common room. The albino passed by many people, all who were talking about trivial things, until he came into perception, which is then when their voices quieted down to a barely-audible whisper, which made him feel even more nervous than he already was. 

Once he got to the common area, the first person he spotted was Rose, standing there in a stunning white kimono with a brilliant smile plastered on her face, then looked around and saw a couple of other geisha and maiko. After a moment of silence, he cleared his throat and spoke up.

“I’m here, Rose. What’s going on?” he asked, making the girl smile even more.

“Well…” she said, making Jaxson feel anticipation as butterflies creeped up his throat from his stomach, when she finally replied after a few seconds, “We were thinking about making you one of us, if you know what I mean!”

The boy felt excitement drift its way into his mind, before it got blocked out by a slight moment of fear. Now he knew why this felt so familiar.

“I...I don’t...But...Why?” he finally said after some time.

“Well, you seemed very interested in the things that I and the other maiko and geisha were doing, so I thought ‘Why not?’. You don’t have to have an answer right away, I just thought that it should get mentioned, but I really do hope that you join us!”

His mind wavered. He trusted her, but… what if? What if they betray him, or they hurt him, like they tried to? He felt his heartbeat grow faster and faster, louder and louder, so much that he was deafened by the sound, and his eyes stung with tears that couldn’t come out. The last thing he saw was Rose’s panicked face, and then…

Darkness.

After what seemed like years, Jaxson woke up, and immediately felt a throbbing pain in his head and groaned, then lied back down, until he suddenly heard a yell.

“Jaxson! Oh my God, are you okay? I’m so sorry, I didn’t think it would end up this way, what happened?” he heard a female’s voice yell, and immediately knew who it was. Rose’s loud shrieking didn’t exactly help the migraine he had, and he groaned once more.

“I’m fine, sorry, just… bad memories. It’s alright, it wasn’t your fault, you didn’t know,” he replied to her worries, not realizing that he was only making things worse.

Rose sighed and, since she was currently already kneeling, bowed down and touched her head to the floor, performing dogeza, a motion used when one is expressing deep apology or a favor from a person of higher status. Though Jaxson was not of higher status than her, she still felt the need to do so, which made the albino panick.

“Get up, Rose, I’m fine, just a bad headache. Did I face plant on the floor or something?” he asked, trying to raise the mood, until he realized that the girl had buried her face deeper in the floor and hadn’t responded. 

“Oh...,” he muttered, then after a moment of silence and realization, he continued,” well, as I said before, I’m alright, so please get up.” After he said that, Rose finally lifted her head and wouldn’t look at him, only staring down at the floor, full of guilt. Jaxson sighed, and patted her shoulder.

“I’ll consider what you said about becoming a maiko, but I can’t promise anything, alright? In return though, you have to teach me everything you know.”

Right after he said that, Rose looked up with smiling eyes, and leaped to hug him. He yelped as her body crushed his, and all of the air that was once in his lungs came barreling out, but after a short while, he got used to it and he felt his face heat up, then slowly wrapped his arms around her, hugging her as well. They stayed like this for a minute, until Rose let go, and looked at him seriously.

“Alright, I’ll go talk to okaasan about this, and make sure everything goes as planned!” she said determinedly, and quickly ran out the door, almost tripping while doing so. Jaxson chuckled and shook his head, then lied down once again, closing his eyes, trying to fall asleep but failing to do so. He sighed, sat back up again, then rose off the ground, stretching, and walked out of the room and down the halls, out of the okiya he stayed in, to a garden located near it, full of cherry blossom trees and a stream, and sat down next to it, staring as the water calmly flowed by him. Lying down on the grass that tickled his face and neck, he closed his eyes and fell asleep listening to the water and splashing of fish…

After a little while, Jaxson slowly woke up, still lying on the grass, and he rubbed his face, still feeling the prickly feeling of the blades on his cheek. He stayed lying down for a bit and flipped over on his back, staring up at the night sky. Wait… night sky? Now that he thought about it, when he woke up, he heard someone’s footsteps making their way towards him. He shot up from his spot on the grass, and everything went black in front of him for a couple of seconds.

“So sorry, I didn’t realize it had gotten this late, I was just laying here when suddenly I fell asleep and-”, he cut himself off midway, realizing that the other party hadn’t answered him.

‘That’s not right,’ he though, ‘if it was Rose, she would have already cut me off…’, and suddenly realized something wasn't right. He quickly turned around to see a man dressed in black with black hair and stunning peridot green eyes. Peridot… peridot…

“You…”, the man said after a moment of silence, his eyes widening. Jaxson looked at him strangely, and responded.

“Me… what? Do I know you?”, he asked, slightly glaring. The man in black just stood there for a few more moments, then looked at Jaxson, staring him down from head-to-toe, and turned and walked away. The albino sat there for a few more moments before standing up and dusting himself, and headed towards the okiya again, still thinking about that strange man who had suddenly approached him for no apparent reason.

‘What a strange character,’ he thought, ‘but I do feel like I have seen him somewhere, especially those eyes… where have I seen them?’ After thinking about it for a while, he realized that there was a chunk of his memories missing, mostly from when he was around nine years old or so and before that. Peridot… peridot… beautiful…

When he thought about the man’s eyes, he felt his face start to heat up, but shook it off and went back into the okiya, suddenly getting run into by a pummeling force.

“What the-” he said, dropping to the ground once again and looked down at his chest and saw that it was Rose, who had fallen to the ground along with him.

“Jaxson!”, she yelled, sparks lighting up in her eyes, as she jumped up from on top of him, her face slightly tinted red. “I finally found you! Where were you, you had me so worried!” The male chuckled and got up also, trying to ignore the dizziness pounding his head in.

“Sorry about that, I didn’t expect to be gone for so long. Also, what are you doing up so late? Last time I heard, you didn’t have a party today, unless something changed?”, he said.

“I was looking for you, of course! Did you know how much of a nervous wreck I was thinking that you had been kidnapped or something!”, Rose exclaimed, looking at him with puffed up cheeks and an adorably grumpy look plastered on her face, though her eyes showed otherwise.

“Did you need me for something?”, he asked, getting straight to the point.

“Ah, that’s right, I almost forgot! Okaasan said that once you are ready, you can start your training as a shikomi, and after about four months, perform the final exam to become a minarai, and then after about a month, you become a maiko. I’ll explain more once you reach that stage, alright?”

Jaxson nodded, feeling butterflies well up in his stomach, and he yawned. Rose smiled at that action.

“I’ll explain more in the morning once we both get enough sleep, though I can’t believe you’re still tired after having such a long nap!”, the girl said, and Jaxson laughed.

“Key word: nap.”, he replied, and walked to his room, wishing Rose farewell and he took his clothes off and flopped onto his tatami, sighing happily. He still couldn’t get that man out of his mind though, because he swore he had seen him from somewhere, but Jaxson was too tired to even think about it, so he fell asleep, but all he could see in his dreams was that man, or someone that looked like him… a child with the same eyes, watching him, almost like he was trying to remind Jaxson of something, but the albino just brushed it off as nothing and slept like a bear until morning.

  
  
  
  
  



	4. Where It All Began

Jaxson woke up the next day, yawning and rubbing his eyes, feeling the exhaustion pile up from last night.

‘What happened,’ he questioned himself in his mind, then suddenly remembered everything. Rose, him becoming a shikumi on the way to becoming a maiko, him fainting, but most importantly, the man in black with the lime green peridot eyes. ‘That man seemed very familiar, but what-’ he continued until it suddenly dawned upon him…

That man was the freaking prince!

The albino’s jaw dropped at his own stupidity and his face flushed to a brilliant red. He shoved his face into his covers and screamed. Someone ran into the room, and yelled, asking if he was okay.

“I’m an idiot!” he yelled back, and flopped down on the tatami mat, then rolled around while holding his covers and felt embarrassment slap him in the face.

“Jaxson, calm down and tell me what happened!” the voice said again, and he then realized it was Rose. He looked up at her with tears in his eyes and told her about what happened yesterday. He watched as her expressions changed, and once he finished the story, he went back to rolling around on the floor, when Rose suddenly stopped him with a mischievous grin on her face. The boy realized that the atmosphere had gotten strange, and he looked at her, seeing her grin, and stopped rolling.

“What are you thinking of, Rose?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing, besides the fact that you met the prince right on the edge of town! Did anything else happen?” she asked, still keeping that smile on her face, which grew larger when Jaxson shook his head.

“You do understand that he thought he knew you, and might actually? Ah, I know, when you become a maiko, he could become your sponsor!” Rose exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

“Rose!”, he yelled, his face starting to flush. “I’m just a commoner, what would he want to do with me? Besides, even if I’m an albino, there has never been a record of him being interested in sponsoring a maiko.”

“You never know!”

The albino glared at her and turned away, then pouted.

“Are you going to go back there again tonight?” the girl suddenly asked, and Jaxson looked up at her.

“I’m… not sure. I really want to because of how peaceful it is, but what if I run into the prince again… won’t that be awkward?” he asked, and remembered the blades of grass dancing in the wind, the night sky settling above him as the moonlight shone down on him, and the prince, standing there looking like a god in the pale glow raining down upon him as his peridot eyes shimmered and sparkled with curiosity. As he thought this, his face heated up even more, and he was sure his face was as red as a vibrant rose.

“Hey, don’t worry about it so much! I’m sure it’ll be fine. Besides, he might not even show up this time,” Rose said, slapping his back. Jaxson yelped, and stopped himself from falling over, casting a glare over at the girl.

“Is there a reason you came in here, besides to pester me like this?” he asked, and Rose’s smile relaxed and nodded.

“Yeah, I was told to come here to lead you through your new duties, like what to do and what not to do. Now, hurry up and get dressed!”

Jaxson nodded, and dressed himself in a red yukata and an orange-yellow obi, brushed his hair, which is down to the middle of his back now, and decided that would be all for now. He then followed Rose around and learned what he had to do: he’d work as a maid or helping hand for his okiya, cleaning, doing errands and helping the maiko and geisha with certain tasks. He also had to take vocal lessons and instrumental lessons, along with dance lessons too.

“Wow, that sure is a lot to do,” he said, and rubbed his chin.

“I agree, but it is necessary for you to become a good maiko,” Rose replied, smiling, “but I believe you can do it. You seem very determined and strong-minded. This process is meant to break you and discipline you, so if you can get through this without becoming broken and quitting, then you will do just fine here!”

The boy nodded.

“So, when do I start?” Jaxson asked.

“Tomorrow. Today is just to guide you through the steps. Since I’m just a minarai, I don’t entertain at parties but just sit, watch and learn, which can get so boring, but that also means that I won’t be able to help and guide you through what you should do, but the geisha should help, and I’ll leave you your schedule for this week so you get the hang of it, alright? Now, go and enjoy your freedom while it lasts. You might also want to go check out that river you told me so much about, too.”

Jaxson rolled his eyes and lightly slapped her shoulder. She gasped and held it like a newborn baby, and Jaxson laughed.

“How melodramatic,” he said as they walked back to his room, and joked around until they finally arrived, which is when he realized how much time it had taken them to walk around and figure everything out.

“Well, I guess this is good night, or evening, or whatever time it is?” Jaxson said, and shrugged as he walked into his room, poking his head out from the paper door.

“Yeah, good night Jaxson. Get some rest, you’re going to need it!” Rose replied, and winked, giving him a thumbs up and walking away. Once she was out of sight, that was when he finally closed his door and retreated to his room. He knew that, as Rose said, he was going to need some sleep, but he just… couldn’t. Everytime he closed his eyes, he couldn’t relax, so he instead stayed awake for a while.

“Ugh, why can’t I relax,” he asked himself, and sat up, remembering the place he went to, but perished the thought… at least he did until the lack of sleep became unbearable, so he found himself back at that place.

“Well, at least the prince isn’t here,” he thought, and sat down at the same spot he did last time. As always, this place truly did calm him down. Jaxson sighed and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of nature, when he heard that familiar crunching coming towards him. He didn’t open his eyes because he knew who it was and isn’t scared this time.

“It really is relaxing out here, isn’t it?” the familiar voice said to him, and Jaxson nodded.

“Yes, it is,” the albino replied, and opened his eyes, turning to look at the man who, once again. Looked like a god underneath the shimmering moonlight. His face flushed, and he looked away, scared of being blinded.

“What brings you out here?” the prince asked.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Jaxson replied, looking at the flowing stream, “what about you?” The presence of the man became so comfortable that he almost forgot he was talking to royalty until he said that, and his face distorted in horror when he realized what he had said. Just when he was about to apologize, Ryuuji interrupted him.

“Don’t apologize, I honestly don’t care if you ask something like that, so I’ll give you my answer,” the prince said. Jaxson bit his lip to keep him from spouting out anything more.

“The palace is crowded and noisy, and it’s hard to breathe. Out here is where I can find peace,” Ryuuji answered, and the albino nodded, “but I also wanted to see if you would be here again today.”

Jaxson froze, and silence filled the air for a few moments, until his face started flushing again and Ryuuji started laughing.

“Don’t joke like that!” Jaxson yelled, trying to cover up his beet-red face.

“Who said that I was joking?” the prince said, still laughing. The albino’s face turned even more red, if that was even possible, and Ryuuji’s laugh halted and slowed into a smile. Jaxson finally looked at the prince because he had gone quiet, but immediately regretted it. Once he saw that divine face, he couldn’t look away. Ryuuji looked back at him and smirked.

“What, see something you like?” Ryuuji said, and sat down next to Jaxson, who was having an internal heat stroke.

“I’m just wondering why you’re acting so nice to me and talking to me like we’re best friends or something,” the albino said, finally calming his fast beating heart, “because I’ve heard that you were cold or barely talked to the locals. Also, you’re without your bodyguards, so that must mean that you snuck out right?” Ryuuji laughed again and nodded.

“What a smart boy you are! Yes, you are correct, I snuck out of the palace, and I try to do this whenever I can. I already told you why, so…”, the prince stopped, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. Jaxson almost thought that Ryuuji's face was turning red, but the illusion was gone just as fast as it appeared.

“Ah,” Jaxson said, and sat there in silence for a bit, but instead of the awkward silence from before, it was now comfortable and serene. For almost fifteen minutes, they sat and basked in each other's presence, until the albino almost fell asleep, so he decided to go back to the okiya.

“You're going back now?”, the prince asked, and Jaxson nodded, standing up alongside Ryuuji, and brushed off the grass and dirt on his clothes and hair.

“Well, it was nice hanging out with you…” Ryuuji paused, and it took Jaxson a bit to catch the hint.

“Jaxson! My...my name is Jaxson,” the albino said, stumbling over his words.

“Jaxson, huh? Not bad. I'm guessing you already know who I am, right?” the prince said, and Jaxson nodded.

“Well then,  _ Jaxson _ , I'm glad I got the pleasure to actually talk to you.”

The albino flushed, remembering what happened last time.

“I'm very sorry, I don't know what came over me. I had just woken up and didn't recognize you in the darkness,” Jaxson said.

“I thought I told you not to apologize about such trivial things,” Ryuuji replied. Jaxson was about to refute, but was interrupted, “but I've kept you here for long enough. You should go and get some rest.” Jaxson nodded and bowed, then started walking away when he heard a voice call out to him. 

“I hope to see you here again soon!”

Jaxson kept walking but slowed his pace down, looked back, and mustered up enough confidence to turn his head, smile, and yell back:

“Yeah!”, and waved, then continued walking back at his normal speed until he arrived at the okiya and back in his room. Once he got in, he lied down on his tatami mat and fell asleep.

Little did he know how much that one simple gesture would change their lives.


	5. Broken and Bitter

Everyday is a new adventure for Jaxson, who goes from to and fro, trying to complete his tasks as quickly as possible. 

“Rose wasn’t kidding,” he thought, “the tasks really are meant to break you. I’ve already lost count of how many days it’s been since I started doing this.”

For Jaxson, the work was peaceful as it gave him something to do besides sitting around doing nothing. The only downside is that he was so busy that he wasn’t able to see the prince, but he didn’t dwell on the thought for long, as they had only just met and he didn’t have much time for thinking anyways. His schedule went like chores, lessons, chores, lessons, lunch, more chores, more lessons, dinner, and sleep. Besides, even if he did have time to go to the stream, he’d most likely be too tired to even think about it.

“Jaxson!” he heard his name being called.

“Coming!” the albino replied, running towards the voice, until he arrived to realize the person that had called him was Ayaka, another maiko who he was close friends with, and usually called her Aya.

“What do you need,” Jaxson asked, composing himself.

“My clothes are dirty and need to be washed,” Aya replied.

The albino nodded, collecting the clothes she pointed out and was about to leave until he was momentarily stopped.

“You’re doing great, Jaxson, just hold on for a little while longer,” the maiko said. Jaxson nodded and replied.

“Anything for you, hot stuff.” Ayaka snorted and shook her head.

“Has Lily been teaching you flirting again?” the maiko asked, and shook her head. She shooed him away and so Jaxson continued on with his day. The favorite part of his day was most likely his dance and flute lessons, which he thought himself good at.

“After lunch had passed, he started to go towards the common room to get new orders and chores when he heard telling coming from nearby. Worried, he followed the sound, which led him to the courtyard, where he saw another geisha whose name he did not know and a man fighting about… something. Jaxson walked closer until he suddenly realized that he made a mistake after he saw the man’s face.

“We’ve finally found you, Jaxson,” he said, but instead of a smile, a menacing scowl traced his lips. He charged the albino who yelped in surprise and fell, trying to crawl out of the way, but this didn’t stop the man. He went after Jaxson once more, and this time got a hit on the boy. The albino grunted in pain as an iron taste lingered in his mouth, filling his heart with fear and rage. He tried to get up but the moment he lifted himself off the ground, stars filled his vision and the world started spinning. He tried to snap himself out of it, but was unsuccessful and knew that he was going to be taken away by this man back to the place that ruined his life until he heard a yelling and thud.

“Jaxson, run!” the geisha yelled as she tried to hold the man back, but was about to be overthrown after each passing second. The albino looked at her in horror, but looked away and ran, faster than he had ever run. He ran until he couldn’t feel his legs, until his lungs hurt so badly that breathing was more difficult than walking, until he stopped in front of a stream. He collapsed on the ground, tears in his eyes as he felt the cool rush of the running water splash and greet him. He closed his eyes, soaking everything in, until he felt a presence above him.

“Who’s there?” he asked, not caring about if it was a gang member or not.

“Guess,” the person said, and Jaxson slowly opened his eyes, until he was greeted with those familiar peridot eyes. The albino stared at him for a moment, until the tears started falling, and he couldn’t contain his emotions anymore. He held his face, quietly sobbing into the palms of his hands. Ryuuji didn’t say anything, but just sat there and waited. After Jaxson had calmed down, the prince talked.

“What happened?”

“It doesn’t matter, it’ll blow over sooner or later,” the albino replied.

Silence hung in the air.

“What can I do to help?” the prince asked.

“I… I’m not sure… I wouldn’t want to trouble you,” the albino replied, which Ryuuji chuckled to.

“If you were troubling me, I wouldn’t still be talking to you. Tell me what you need me to do, Jaxson. Something, anything.” The albino smiled, then thought for a bit. He looked at the prince, taking in his face, hair, and eyes, but something was… off. He felt that he had met him before, but couldn’t remember. He couldn’t remember anything of what happened before he joined the gang, but he knew that the prince was a part of his lost memories. He knew exactly what he needed.

“I… I need you to help me remember.”

“Remember?” Ryuuji asked, an eyebrow raised in question.

“Yes… I have many memories that have been locked away in my mind that as much as I try to access, I never can. I feel like I’ve seen you before, but I can’t remember, so I need you to help me remember, Ryuuji.”

The prince’s look of question and shock slowly faded into one of contentedness and relief.

“Of course, Jaxson. I’ll do the best I can,” he said, a small smile dancing on his lips, clearly satisfied with the meiko’s answer. He sat next to him, and stared into the stream, then looked back at the albino. Their eyes met and the breath in their lungs was immediately caught, for the synchronicity in that moment was enough to make them feel nostalgia for something that had never happened, or that had happened long ago. Everything in that moment felt so perfect, until…

“You killed my mother,” Jaxson whispered in disbelief.

Ryuuji’s eyes widened in shock, and knew exactly what he was talking about.

“Jaxson, I swear to you I had nothing to do with your mother’s death,” he said, his throat suddenly dry and fear taking over his body.

“Liar…” the albino muttered as tears welled up in his eyes.

“Jaxson-”

“LIAR!” he screamed as he got up in anger. “I now remember what you told me, and then to go back to my house and see her dead on the floor right after that… how could it  **_not_ ** be you?!” Tears welled up in his eyes and his vision started getting foggy.

“Jaxson, please calm down, you’re not looking so well.” Ryuuji said, about to reach out to him.

“Don’t touch me!” he yelled, backing away from him. As he backed up, his foot slipped and he immediately went crashing into the stream. A yelp left his lips as he stumbled, and an audible splash erupted as he fell. He was covered in water, and though Ryuuji would’ve normally laughed at this, he couldn’t.

“Please, let me help you,” he said, a solemn and panicked look on his face.

“You can’t help me. Bring my mother back, and maybe we’ll talk.”

“You know I can’t do that…”

The albino scrunched his eyes closed and buried his face in his knees, not caring that he was still in the stream.

“If there’s anything I can do, Jaxson…”

“You’ve done enough,” he said with resentment making his tone bitter. “Leave me. I don’t care if I die because of this, just… leave.”

His voice was laced with defeat, and it made Ryuuji’s heart ache.

“Okay,” he said calmly, and got up, leaving Jaxson in the stream, broken and damaged.


End file.
